Paint can mounted brush holder

ABSTRACT

A paint brush holder mounts on the rim of an open paint can and holds a paint brush between intervals of use. When the handle of a paint brush is received in the brush holder, the bristles of the brush are held over the opening in the paint can, and any paint dripping from the brush falls back into the paint can. The brush holder is made of two main members: a mount member for engaging the rim and outer wall of a paint can, and a brush holder head fixed to the top of the mount member. The head member is made of a compressible and resilient material and has a notch disposed in its upper portion to tightly receive and retain the handle of a paint brush. A magnetic strip or an adhesive pad can be used with the brush holder to further secure it in place.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Periodically while painting with a brush, the painter must stop and put the brush down momentarily. When the painter is painting directly out of a paint can, this can be inconvenient and messy, as the brush may hold excess paint which can run or drip from the brush during the time. Often, the brush must be placed either back in the paint can or cleaned and put down on a surface. These options may be inconvenient (i.e., the paint level in the can is too high) or wasteful of both paint and time (to clean the brush)

In many of these situations, a paint brush holder which allows for wiping excess paint from the brush and then holding the brush would be preferable. It would be beneficial to reduce the frequency of scrubbing the paint brush with water or solvents. An object of the present invention is to provide an easy means of resting the brush while excess paint is allowed to drip back into the can during a break from painting. This is particularly useful in situations where a person might not have time to clean a brush before putting it down, or it is inconvenient, such as when painting from a ladder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a paint brush holder which is installable on the rim of an open paint can, for holding a paint brush between intervals of use. When the brush holder is installed on an open paint can, the handle of a paint brush received in the brush holder extends radially away from the top rim of the paint can opening. The bristles of the brush are held over the opening in the paint can, and any paint dripping from the brush falls back into the interior of the paint can.

The present paint brush holder has a head member and a can mount member. The head member has a U-shaped configuration with two upright arms and a base section. The combination of the upright arms and base section form a notch into which a portion of a paint brush handle to be held is pressed. The upright arms are spaced apart and constructed of a material disposed to receive and releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush handle between them. The paint brush handle is retained in the head member by the upright arms gripping or squeezing against the handle portion of the brush when it is inserted between the arms. Preferably, the base section of the U-shaped holder has a top surface that is angled downward. The downward angle of the top surface between the upright arms of the head member facilitates the part of the brush received in the brush holder that extends over the interior of the paint can to hang lower into the can than the can's rim. Preferably, the head member fixed to the top surface of the mount member is made of a compressible and resilient material appropriate to accomplish its purpose. Such materials are known in the art and selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan for practice in the present invention.

A mount member is provided as the attachment means for mounting the brush holder to the paint can. An upper surface of the mount member is joined to a lower surface of the base section of the holder head. The mount member has an configuration conforming to the wall of the container on which it is mounted. For a typical paint can, the mount member has an arcuate configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the present brush mount had an inverted L-shaped cross-section with a first long extending leg and a second short extending leg, and had an arcuate configuration to enable the mount member to engage the curved rim of a paint can with the first long leg disposed adjacent the outside wall of the can and the second short leg disposed on top of the rim of the can.

In a preferred embodiment of the brush holder, the head member conformed to the arcuate configuration of the mount member, however, this is not necessary. One of ordinary skill in the art, in view of the teachings an figures contained herein, knows how and when to make the head member larger (for example) than its interface with the upper surface of the mount member. Such enlargement can provide a larger contact area between the head member and the paint brush being held, and hence, increased grip force against the brush handle. The short leg of the can mount member has an edge distal from the long leg. In a preferred embodiment, the short leg distal edge has a rim engagement means for releaseably engaging the inside rim edge of the rim of a paint can. The rim engagement means can be a simple downward projecting lip, or can include a lip with a detent for releaseably engaging the inside rim edge of the paint can.

Optionally, the present paint brush holder includes a magnetic strip disposed on an interior surface of the long extending leg of the mount member. The optional magnetic strip is particularly useful when mounting the brush holder to the typical (ferrous) metal paint can. In this application, the brush mount's magnet helps to secure the brush holder in place on a metal paint can. Alternatively, the magnetic strip can be replaced by an adhesive pad to stick the long extending leg of the brush mount to the outside wall of the paint can. In a preferred embodiment, the long extending leg of the mount member has a long leg distal edge, along the outer edge of which there is a thumb hold projection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the paint brush holder of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the present brush holder.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush holder of the present invention showing a paint brush engaged in the holder.

FIG. 4A is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush holder of the present invention engaged on the rim of a paint can.

FIG. 4B is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush holder of the present invention as in FIG. 4A, but without being engaged on the rim of a paint can.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the two primary sections of the present can mounted paint brush holder.

FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively are back and front perspective views of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the present paint brush holder showing the ribbed configuration of the gripper face on an upright arm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated. Like elements in the drawings are represented by like numbers, and any similar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix.

As shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, the paint brush holder 10 of the present invention comprises a U-shaped brush mount head 12 with spaced apart, upright arms 20 defining a notch 28 between them and a base section 22. The upright arms 20 are disposed to squeeze and frictionally hold a portion of a handle 26 of a paint brush inserted in the notch 28 between the upright arms 20. The mount head 12 is made of a resilient material, like rubber, high density foam, or similar material capable of imparting a force against the brush handle 26 to retain it in the brush holder 10. The crotch of the U-shaped brush mount head 12 defines the base section top surface 25. In the preferred embodiment exemplified in FIG. 3, the base section top surface 25 was sloped at an angle sufficient to allow paint dripping from a paint brush retained in the brush mount head 12 to fall back into the paint can 18, rather than to run back up the brush.

The base section 22 of the brush mount head 12 has a bottom surface 24 which is attached to the top surface 50 of the rim engagement member 14. The attachment of the base section bottom surface 24 to the top surface 50 of the rim engagement member 14 may be accomplished by any of a variety of means known to and selectable by one of ordinary skill in the art, such as an adhesive disposed between the two surfaces.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rim engagement member 14 of the paint brush holder 10 in a preferred embodiment has an arcuate configuration and an inverted L-shaped cross-section. The arcuate long leg 30 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 compliments the arcuate external surface of the wall of a paint can, i.e., the long leg 30 of the rim engagement member 14 is curved to interface with the curvature of the outside wall of the paint can. As exemplified in FIG. 4, the short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 conforms to the rim 60 of the paint can, i.e., the short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 is disposed to rest on the top of the rim 60 and to engage either or both of the outer rim edge 61 and/or the inner rim edge 62 of the rim 60. The short leg 48 of the rim engagement member 14 has a top surface 50 to which the bottom surface 24 of the base section 22 is attached.

The short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 may be disposed to engage the inner rim edge or lip 62 of the rim 60 by any of a variety of means known to and selectable by one of ordinary skill in the art. In a preferred embodiment the short leg 48 of the rim engagement member 14 has a short leg distal end 52 disposed away from the long leg 30, which distal end 52 has a rim engagement means 56 for releasably engaging a rim edge 61 & 62 of the rim 60 of a paint can 18. In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the rim engagement means 56 included the short leg 48 having a downwardly projecting rim lip 64 at its distal end 52. As a further feature of this embodiment, rim lip 64 had a detent as a rim engagement means 56 for releasably engaging the inside rim edge 62 of the paint can rim 60. In this embodiment, the rim lip 64 was spaced apart from the long leg 30 by a distance D (see FIG. 1) sufficient to allow the rim engagement member 14 to pass closely over the rim 60 of an open paint can. In fact, the rim engagement member 14 is configured to compliment the curvature of a paint can 18 to allow for its insertion over the rim 60 of the paint can 18.

The rim engagement member 14 of the paint brush holder 10 may be constructed of any of a variety of materials known to and selectable by one of ordinary skill in the art, such as plastic, sheet metal and the like. The rim engagement member 14 may even be made of the same material as the brush mount head 12 and integrally constructed therewith.

Optionally, the rim engagement member 14 of the paint brush holder 10 has a magnetic strip 40 disposed on the interior surface 32 of the long extending leg 30. The size and placement of the magnetic strip 40 on the interior surface 32 of the long extending leg 30 is selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan. The magnetic strip 40 may be practiced with the present invention when the brush holder 10 is used on a metallic paint can as alternative or additional engagement means for securing the brush holder 10 to the paint can 18. A further optional feature is a thumb hold 42 disposed at the bottom edge 34 of the exterior surface 31 of the long extending leg 30. The thumb hold 42 is useful in certain embodiments to facilitate installation and/or removal of the brush holder 10 onto and off of a paint can 18.

In using the present the paint brush holder 10, the rim engagement member 14 is placed with its long leg 30 against the outside surface of a paint can and with its short leg 48 against the top of the rim 60 of the paint can. An optional thumb hold 42 at the bottom edge 34 of the exterior surface 31 of the long leg 30 provides a point of purchase for installing and removing the brush holder. A portion of a paint brush handle 26 may be pressed into and held in the notch 28 of the brush holder head 12 and any excess paint on the brush allowed to drip back into the paint can; this allows a painter using paint from a can to conveniently put a paint brush down without causing a mess or waste of paint.

FIGS. 5 and 6A & 6B illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present paint brush holder 10 a. The paint brush holder 10 a was mountable on a paint can and comprised a holder head 12 a and a mount or rim engagement member 14 a. The holder head 12 a had two upright arms 20 a, spaced apart and each having a first end 21 fixed to a base section 22 a. The upright arms 20 a were constructed to receive and releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush between them. In this embodiment, upright arms 20 a each has a gripper face 70. The gripper faces 70 of the upright arms 20 a were disposed in opposition to each other as illustrated in the figures. The holder head 12 a was constructed of a pliant material, and the gripper faces 70 of the upright arms 20 a comprises a pattern of pliant ribs 74 as shown in FIG. 7.

The top surface 50 a of the mount member 14 a was joined to the holder head 12 a proximate the lower surface 24 a of the base section22 a. The mount member had an inverted L-shape cross-section (see FIG. 7) with a long leg 30 a and a short leg 48 a of the L-shaped mount member 14 a. The short leg end 78 of the L-shaped mount member 14 a had an arcuate detent member 64 a projecting from the short leg 48 a. The arcuate detent member 64 a was disposed to releaseably engage the curved inner rim of a paint can.

In this embodiment, the mount member was constructed of a relatively rigid and strong material. This allowed the long leg end 76 of the L-shaped mount member 14 a to be configured as a pry 80 useful for removing the lid from a closed paint can.

While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible, which would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, and not just by the embodiments. 

1. A paint brush holder, the brush holder mountable on a paint can and comprising: a holder head having a U-shaped configuration with two upright arms and a base section, the upright arms spaced apart and constructed of a material disposed to receive and releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush handle between them; a mount member joined to a lower surface of the base section of the holder head, the mount member having an arcuate configuration and an inverted L-shaped cross-section with a first long extending leg and a second short extending leg, and the arcuate mount member disposed to engage the curved rim of a paint can.
 2. The paint brush holder of claim 1, further comprising a magnetic strip disposed on an interior surface of the long extending leg of the mount member.
 3. The paint brush holder of claim 1, wherein the long extending leg of the mount member has a long distal end and an edge of which a thumb hold is disposed projecting from an exterior surface of the long extending leg.
 4. The brush holder device of claim 1, wherein the base section of the U-shaped holder has a top surface that is angled downward.
 5. The brush holder device of claim 1, wherein the holder head conforms to the arcuate configuration of the mount member.
 6. A paint brush holder mountable on the rim of a paint can, the brush holder comprising: a can mount member for engaging the rim of a paint can, the can mount member having an arcuate configuration and an L-shaped cross-section, with a long leg of the L-shaped cross-section complimenting an external surface of the wall of the paint can, and the short leg of the L-shaped cross-section conforming to the rim of the paint can and providing a top surface on the can mount member; and a brush holder affixed to the top surface of the mount member, the brush holder being made of a compressible and resilient material, and having a notch in an upper portion for receiving and retaining a portion of a paint brush handle.
 7. The brush holder device of claim 6, wherein the short leg of the can mount member has an end distal from the long leg, which distal end has a rim engagement means for releasably engaging the inside rim edge of the rim of a paint can.
 8. The brush holder device of claim 7, wherein the rim lip at the distal end of the short leg has a detent for releasably engaging the inside rim edge of the paint can.
 9. A paint brush holder, the brush holder mountable on a paint can and comprising: a holder head having two upright arms and a base section, the upright arms spaced apart and each having a first end fixed to the base section and constructed to receive and releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush between them; a mount member joined to the holder head proximate a lower surface of the base section, the mount member having an inverted L-shape cross-section with a long leg of the L-shape and a short leg of the L-shape, and an arcuate detent member projecting from the short leg and the arcuate detent member disposed to engage the curved inner rim of a paint can.
 10. The paint brush holder of claim 9, wherein the spaced apart, upright arms each has a gripper face, the gripper face of the upright arms disposed in opposition to each other.
 11. The paint brush holder of claim 9, wherein the spaced apart, upright arms are constructed of a pliant material.
 12. The paint brush holder of claim 10, wherein gripper face of the spaced apart, upright arms comprises a pattern of pliant ribs. 